AOH Backs Caucus Campaign To Repeal Act of Settlement

Posted By: September 23, 2007

IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS

PRESS RELEASE

Washington AOH Backs Caucus Campaign To Repeal Act of Settlement.

Capitol Hill. Sunday, September 23, 2007—It did not take longfor the Irish National Caucus to pick up influential support forits campaign to repeal the anti-Catholic provisions in theBritish Act of Settlement, 1701.

The campaign was launched in an OP-Ed piece by Caucus president,Fr. Sean Mc Manus, in the Irish Echo, which appeared onWednesday, September 22, 2007. Just three days later, onSeptember 22, the Washington AOH, in convention assembled, passeda unanimous resolution endorsing in “solidarity” the Caucuscampaign and urging the US Congress to call upon,” the BritishParliament to repeal this affront to human rights and toeliminate any all state-sponsored bigotry and sectarianism”

The Irish National Caucus wrote to all Members of Congress, Houseand Senate, asking them to sign an enclosed document, “Roll Callon Act of Settlement”, which states they,” do hereby declare mysupport for REPEAL.I join the growing number of leaders of bothChurch and State in Britain, Ireland and the United States incalling for the repeal of the sectarian and anti-Catholicsections of the Act of Settlement, 1701.

And I pledge to Irish-Americans to continue supporting the Irishpeace-process, based on nonviolence, equality, justice and peacein Northern Ireland”. (See letter and Roll Call below).

Fr. Mc Manus concluded by congratulating the Washington AOH fortheir swift and decisive action. He also praised AOH NationalPresident, Jack Meehan. “Jack’s presence added strength to theWashington AOH resolution. He assured me he would make certainthat Hibernians all across America would throw their weightbehind the Caucus campaign”.

END OF PRESS RELEASE—-

LETTER AND ROLL CALL FOLLOWS

The Honorable ___________U.S. SenateWashington, DC. 20510

September 18, 2007

Dear Senator/Representative_________,

This letter — which asks you to state your position on repealingthe anti-Catholic sections of the British Act of Settlement of1701– has overwhelmingly support among Irish-Americans.Furthermore, it is supported by the main Irish organizations thathave been working for over the years for equality, justice andpeace in Northern Ireland.

The sectarian and anti-Catholic Act of Settlement 1701, which isstill law today, decrees that only a Protestant can succeed tothe British throne and that if the Monarch becomes a Catholic,or marries a Catholic, he/she forfeits the Throne and “thepeople are absolved from their allegiance”.

While this absurdly anachronistic law may mean little to theaverage Englishman in the street, it has always been of theutmost importance to Protestant/Unionist/Orange extremists inNorthern Ireland. It provides the ideological and philosophicalunderpinnings for their bigotry and sectarianism. For you see,the spurious but deadly logic goes, if a Catholic by law can’tget the top job, then Catholics are inferior to Protestants,therefore it’s okay to discriminate against them.

Imagine had there been a provision in the US Constitutionforbidding an African-American being president, or forbidding thepresident to marry a black person imagine how that would havestoked the flames of racism and the sick ideology of whitesupremacy.

Tony Blair, who has done so much good work for justice and peacein Northern Ireland, declared the Act was “plainlydiscriminatory”. Furthermore, an increasing number of people inBritain itself are shamed and embarrassed by this archaic andanti-Catholic law — which is clearly incompatible with the HumanRights Act 1998 — and are demanding its repeal.

Here is a partial list: the British Attorney General, more than150 MPs, the Cardinal of Scotland, the Cardinal of England andthe Guardian Newspaper.

We now ask you to join this growing list of concerned people inthe US, Britain and Ireland, by declaring your support forrepealing the sectarian and anti-Catholic sections of the Act ofSettlement, which fans the fires of religious bigotry in NorthernIreland.

Please find enclosed our “Roll Call on Act of Settlement, 1701”,which polls all Members of the House and Senate on whether theyare for or against Repeal. (A similar poll will be sent toPresidential Candidates and others seeking public office). Yourresponse, or lack thereof, will be disseminated among the Irish-American community, which according to the last US census is over30 million.

I join the growing number of leaders of both Church and State inBritain, Ireland and the United States in calling for the repealof the sectarian and anti-Catholic sections of the Act ofSettlement, 1701.

And I pledge to Irish-Americans to continue supporting the Irishpeace-process, based on nonviolence, equality, justice and peacein Northern Ireland.